Help. Thats why were proud to present your business on msnbc. Hi, there everyone. Welcome to your business where we give you advice and information on the issues that affect americas entrepreneurs. New data shows over the last 17 years, women who own Small Businesses have increased an astounding 68 , but according to the democrats those women are missing out when it comes to loan. The new report claims that while women own 30 of Small Businesses they only receive 4. 4 of conventional Small Business loans. And just 7 of Venture Capital funding. The report also says that women own businesses are only being rewarded 4 of government contracts. Media entrepreneur nellie galan is the founder of a group dedicated to empowering latinas in the u. S. She testified at the senate Small Business meeting about the gender gap in entrepreneurship. So great to see you, nellie. Hi, j. J. So great to be here. Im so excited to be on the senate floor and representing entrepreneurs and latinas. I know. On the senate floor. I know you do so much work for women and helping them with Small Businesses and entrepreneurships. So get down to the cause, what is the root of this . Is that not enough women are applying for loans or theyre getting turned down . I think it starts even before that, j. J. I think theres all these opportunities for women. There are the earmarked opportunities for women and women of color and latinas, but the government doesnt market those opportunities, nor do they do these women even know sometimes that these opportunities exist. And then theres no training for them, because the Womens Business Center needs to be reauthorized for training women. So theres a combination of marketing problem and a training program. And also, i guess the reason i wanted to speak at the senate is because i also want to bridge the gap and have these women meet each other. Have the latinas and the africanamericans and the white women partner because some people have more experience, but other people have more experience in new kind of digital areas and other areas. And they need to partner. So its a series of issues that dont allow women to really take advantage of all these opportunities that are out there for us. And, you know, Harvard Business school did a study where they found that a man and a woman would go in, get financing. They would do the same exact pitch and the man would get financing more than a woman. You know, that i think that is true, but i think that truthfully i think people are trusting women these days more than men. So i think if we get the right information and the right training and thats what im doing, im really pushing because i believe that women even with all the problems we have, this is still the best country in the world to be a woman and to be an entrepreneur. And, i mean, j. J. , where else in the world could a Nellie Galante who is an immigrant come to this country and be selfmade . Nowhere else in the world. So this conversation has started. What do you think will come of it . Were hoping that some legislation gets passed. We have a lot of women senators that understand and they really want to help us. And i think we have to help them help us more. So at least from my point of view, my job is to get latinas to advocate for themselves as well. To call their senators and to say, look, we want this. You know, sometimes we also somehow think miraculously its going to work. We have to we live in a democracy. The beautiful thing about a democracy we get to complain. We get to call our senators and Congress People and we have to do it. My job is to get my latinas to do that. Nellie so great to see you. Thank you so much for all youre doing on behalf of women and latinas. Its important work. I appreciate it. Thank you, j. J. I have been involved in a bunch of startups in my career. Some were venture backed and some boot strap. Through thats experiences ive learned that lack of funding may be seen as a disadvantage it can be seen as helpful. When you dont have resources you have to get creative. As the owners of a hand made home Goods Company found out, when you are forced to make due with less, you come oup with th best ideas. Everything i have seen as a limitation, previously has helped define who we are and has ultimately been one of the greatest strengths. When ron morris and his husband ken jones, jr. , started their business, mercantile home which is a mix between home Goods Company and art gallery they had nothing more than an idea. This was a dream that did not have any sort of financing. We were never in league with the bank. We never took out loans. Probably because we couldnt get them if we had asked. Ron and ken were in a situation familiar to many. They had what they thought was a great idea, but no obvious resources to see it through. We have never approached problems with this cant be overcome idea or attitude. Its always solvable. Even if you have to change what the solution is. Like its solvable. So they were forced to be innovative. And every money saving decision they made became a part of the fabric of what the brand is today. We have always worked with what we had. When thats nothing, we have mined the one Natural Resource that know we have which is our creativity. That started from day one when the entire budget for the company was a 500 loan from kens parents. That didnt get them very far. It bought us some fabric. It bought us the basic supplies. They started looking around. We had tons of fabric that had been collected by me since i was little or given to me by my aunt madge and i had a chance to turn it into things other than gifts for my friends. Everything they made from shirts to pillows was one of a kind. From the very beginning our objects had to be artistic, and our Design Principles were really flexible. Today, even though they can afford more, they stick to their roots because its part of their identity. And why people love their products. Almost all the fabric goods have been given to us or we bought secondary excess, the businesses close well buy their inventory. Again, it has to be low cost because its not a high end thing. 100 and under is where we like to live. Their lack of funds meant they didnt have a marketing budget. The Company Started in brooklyn, new york, but moved to easton, pennsylvania, where they opened their store. They took every opportunity they got to bring customers in. You say hi to everybody who walks by your door. That was the first thing. But that wasnt enough. Especially since easton itself had fallen on hard times. We were very aware of the challenges and needing to get people downtown, to dispel the idea that it was unsafe. We had to be a destination. We had to create reasons for them to visit. Thats how Community Oriented activities became part of the mercantile home plan to get people to shop local. We wanted to get people talking about us, how ever they could. Whether they were taking a class, or they come to the concert. If thats how they connect and get to know us, theyll learn about all the other stuff. These events proved to be much more beneficial than any Public Relations or social media campaign. We were doing something that we needed personally and that thing happened to be also something that the town was in need of. They originally created six collections to give customers reasons to come back to the store. If we only sold candles we wouldnt have been able to attract the diversity of customers that we needed to come in. You had to give them note cards and you had to give them handbags and scarves and all the other stuff. While the number of seasonal launches is now four, the nearly constant reinvention has become a trademark of the brand and a reason for customers to return. Everyone who i think evidently is in this town, five people at a time, i have seen it, how do we make it interesting for the five people again . Oh, lets change it over and have a new collection. Start changing the shop every couple of months and those five people become ten, become 40. The store front allows people to see how they interact with the clients. Instantaneously, you know if youre on to the good thing. For customers the future of the business is personal. Easton has totally made us. I mean, what we are in the community members, theyre who support us, theyre the ones who inspire us. They show up and make suggestions. You know what you should, you know what you should make . Its a give and take relationship. Ron and ken admit there was another frustration they struggled with at the beginning. They didnt know how to best explain their brand. Ken and i often saw it as one of our biggest limitations when we first started, is trying to get people to understand everything that we did. Because we put so much into everything that we did. We thought they needed to understand everything we did. Like all the other challenges they have overcome this one too. They dont need to explain anything now. Thats because their customers do most of the talking for them. Folks will walk into the store and you overhear them explaining what we are to the person they brought in. And theyre saying, oh, yeah, its great. They make everything here. Its always changing, its upside, they have classes. Like we dont have to do the work anymore. Sometimes knowing your limitations when running your business can know when youve taken on more than you can handle. That was the case for two entrepreneurs who decided to cut back on their business. While they each did this for their own reasons, their message is the same. Mary leonards decision to launch her own company was a dream come true. The Business Plan was to have an Online Business and also be in one store during the first year or for the chocolates. I had four flavors. But that plan quickly changed before the business ever got off the ground. Leonards aspirations for an online based business were put on the back burner after her first deal failed to materialize. So i had to punt. A few months after that, i had a store. The majority became retail. The change in plans also meant a change in leonards daily life. Originally, my thoughts were that my that i was starting more of a lifestyle business than a seven day a week business. But now it was a fulltime effort. The Retail Business grew. Thanks to new flavors and leonards decision to work on events like weddings. When you add the chocolate tastings in her stores kitchen, the experience became a little overwhelming. It started to become physically daunting because i was up at 7 00 in the morning and i finished work at 11 00 at night. I was doing that day after day. And so about ten years into the very profitable life of her business, an admittedly tired leonard took drastic action. I jumped off the cliff again and i said, im closing. To the surprise of some customers, leonard halted production, sold all of her inventory, shut her doors, abandoned her store and took two months off. She had cut back, but she knew she wasnt closing for good. During her break, her newly focused mission became clear. I need to start over and have it be what i want it to be. Leonard wanted more joy in her life. And so she overhauled her company. The business will be transformed into what i want it to be. Which is an Internet Business and a business that is for corporations, local images and the like. She spent the summer returning to her original plan. Expanding her web presence and selling her chocolates to corporate clients. Leonards slowly easing out of the retail market. Leonard said it was easy to cut back and retool because she wanted to regain control of her life and her business. I was in a better mood every day. It gave me a new life. There was a little bit more spark in me than there was before. Dan wedge knows a thing or two about cutting back his hours. Because hes already doing it. Being in charge of your own business tends to consume your life. And its nice to have the idea of Something Else too. He now closes his bookstore in albany, new york, for the first week of every month. And he has no regrets. I was working 50 or 60 hours a week for 21 years. Not only minding the store and people expect me to be here a lot of the time, its hard not to be here when you have a store. But also, out buying books. So almost every weekend id be out for at least one day, sometimes two days. Buying books. And when i had other time off, i would chance. At first, customers were a little worried about the future of wedges store. The First Response tended on the tended to be, oh, no, we need you. I took that as a great compliment. Wedge understands his decision to spend less time on his business could affect his revenue, but thats why hes cutting back and not calling it quits. Im a natural retailer. Its what my background is. I like doing it. I like running a store and having a place to go every day. Wedge says he knows his plan might not work for other entrepreneurs. But he says its an idea worth examining if youre looking to make a change. If they want to do Something Else, they have to make room for that somehow. They have to make balances in their lives and thats what im trying to do by doing this for myself. And mary leonard agrees. She says sometimes you need to do things for yourself. Which may actually result in a better business. Go to the place where you have the most enjoyment. Thats where youll be successful. A little thank you gift can go a long way in developing a relationship and our app of the week makes it really easy to send one. Hit up app links with your phone contact so that you can buy and send a gift with a swipe of your finger. You can choose from bottles of wine, sporting event tickets, dinner reservations or hundreds of other gifts to send to your customers, partners or employees. If youre working really hard, dont forget your spouse. Ask anyone who works with me, i get antsy after about ten minutes in a meeting. But i get that they are important at times. So im always focused on making these meetings efficient and worthwhile. Here now are five tips to conducting a productive meeting courtesy of fast company. Com. One, keep meetings to 15 minutes. Research says 10 to 18 minutes is how long most people can Pay Attention before checking out. Consider setting a timer to keep yourself in check. Two, take the chairs away. Have the team stand up for status update meetings. A recent Washington University study says standing for meetings leads to greater collaboration on ideas. Three, no laptops for note taking. Even though theres no real difference in factual recall, you understand concepts better when you write out your notes as opposed to typing them out. Four, leave phones at the door. Theyre a distraction to the work at hand and a Marshall School of Business Survey of more than 500 professionals found that cell phone use is frowned upon by your coworkers. And five, keep meetings to ten attendees or fewer. The more time everyone gets to focus on their work load. When we come back, we answer your Small Business questions on whether you should outsource your taxes and new strategies to combat negative online reviews. And the winner of the student elevator pitch contest sees if he can impress our panel with his concept for a mobile maker space that brings 3d printers to vocational schools. If i can impart one lesson to a new business owner, it would be one thing ive learned is my philosophy is real simple American Express open forum is an online community, that helps our members connect and share ideas to make Smart Business decisions. If you mess up, fess up. Be your partners best partner. We built it for our members, but its open for everyone. Theres not one way to do something. No details too small. American express open forum. This is what membership is. This is what membership does. The philosophies of your company, very, very important. And i think even more importantly, it lets other people who are just starting, who have been around for a while, know theres going to be opportunity down the line. Its time now to answer some of your business questions. Lets get our board of directors in here to help us out. New york times Small Business columnist gene marx is the head of the marx group, a firm that provides technology and Consulting Services to small and medium sized businesses. And we have the ceo of the marketing zen group, a full Service Online marketing and digital p. R. Firm. So great to see you. Happy to be here. Lets dive into the questions. The first is about tax time. Were a fast growing Small Business. I did the taxes and now some of my staff does. At what point do we find someone outside to do the taxes. Should it rely on the income level or how much it annoys the director of collaboration . I dont know if you know about this, im a cpa. Thats not the tway you want to be as a cpa, but i do say this. For my Small Business owner, whether they have one or two employees, you know, youre supposed to focus on what you do best and outsource the rest. Taxes, even at my company, i have ten people. Its a complex world. Whether its payroll taxes. You should have a cpa involved as early as possible. Youll spend a little extra money, but whatever youre investing thats what they do. That should happen as soon as you can. By the way, if you have that money, then you have all this free time. Because it will make you much longer. In doubt, youll probably do it wrong. Did you ever do your own taxes . For the first year. A good cpa is a strong roi. So, you know outsource that. You might be surprised as to what you end up saving. When i let someone else do it, i realized oh, wow, i didnt realize it the deductions when i did it myself. I wont cost you that much if youre a Small Business. The answer is now. Go get someone to hel